Exposing the Battle for Hearts and Minds Adnan Khan

Exposing the Battle for Hearts and Minds Adnan Khan Khilafah.com The scholars of Islam are agreed that the Qur’an is only authentic in its original language Arabic. Since a perfect translation of the Qur’an is not possible, the term Translation of the Meaning of the Qur’an (TMQ) has been used throughout this book. 2 CONTENTS Introduction 4 The battle for hearts and Minds 7 Understanding the battle for hearts and minds 14 The fallacy of Western universalism 21 Islam is valid for all times and places 27 Ijtihad proves Islam’s applicability 41 Difference of opinion (Ikhtilaaf) proves Islam’s Dynamism 47 Conclusion 60 Bibliography 69 3 INTRODUCTION The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi boasted after the events of 9/11: “…we must be aware of the superiority of our civilisation, a system that has guaranteed well being, respect for human rights and - in contrast with Islamic countries - respect for religious and political rights, a system that has its values understanding of diversity and tolerance…The West will conquer peoples, like it conquered communism, even if it means a confrontation with another civilisation, the Islamic one, stuck where it was 1,400 years ago…”1 And in a 2007 report the RAND institute declared: “The struggle underway throughout much of the Muslim world is essentially a war of ideas. Its outcome will determine the future direction of the Muslim world.” Building moderate Muslim Networks, RAND Institute The concept of ‘islah’ (reform) is a concept unknown to Muslims. It never existed throughout the history of the Islamic civilisation; it was never debated or even considered. A cursory glance at classical Islamic literature shows us that when the classical scholars laid the foundations of usul, and codified their Islamic rulings (fiqh) they were only looking to the comprehension of the Islamic rules in order to apply them. A similar situation occurred when the rules were laid down for the hadith, tafseer and the Arabic language. Scholars, thinkers and intellectuals throughout Islamic history spent much time understanding Allah’s revelation – the Qur’an and applying the ayaat upon the realities and coined principals and disciplines in order to facilitate understanding. Hence the Qur’an remained the basis of study and all the disciplines that evolved were always based upon the Qur’an. Those who became smitten by Greek philosophy such as the Muslim philosophers and some from amongst the Mut’azilah were considered to have left the fold of Islam as the Qur’an ceased to be their basis of study. Thus for any Muslim attempting to deduce rules or understand what stance should be taken upon a particular issue the Qur’an is the basis of this study. The first attempt at reforming Islam took place at the turn of the 19th century. By the turn of the century the Ummah had been in a lengthy period of decline where the global balance of power shifted 4 from the Khilafah to Britain. Mounting problems engulfed the Khilafah whilst Western Europe was in the midst of the industrial revolution. The Ummah came to lose her pristine understanding of Islam, and in an attempt to reverse the decline engulfing the Uthmani’s (Ottomans) some Muslims were sent to the West, and as a result became smitten by what they saw. Rifa’a Rafi’ al-Tahtawi of Egypt (1801-1873), on his return from Paris, wrote a biographical book called Takhlis al-ibriz ila talkhis Bariz (The Extraction of Gold, or an Overview of Paris, 1834), praising their cleanliness, love of work, and above all social morality. He declared that we must mimic what is being done in Paris, advocating changes to the Islamic society from liberalising women to the systems of ruling. This thought, and others like it, marked the beginning of the reinventing trend in Islam. Some even went as far as allowing foreign thoughts to be used as reference points alongside the Qur’an. Muhammad Abduh, the grand mufti of Egypt in 1899 is regarded as the founder of the so-called neo- mutazilim thinking.2 In his tafseer of the Qur’an he has the following to say: “The abode of war (dar al-harb) is not a place for the establishment of the rules of Islam, therefore it is obligatory to make hijra unless there is an excuse or benefit for the Muslims due to which he will be safe from the fitna (test) on his deen. It is incumbent on the one who resides (in India) to serve the Muslims according to the best of his abilities and to strengthen the rules of Islam as much as he can. And there is no means of strengthening the influence of Islam and protecting the interests of the Muslims like the assuming of government posts especially if the government is lenient and fairly just between all nations and religions like the English government. It is well known that the laws of this country is closer to the Islamic Shari’ah more than others because it delegates most matters to the Ijtihad of judges. So whoever is qualified to be a judge in Islam and takes up a post in the judiciary in India with the correct aim and good intention, it is possible for him to do a great service for the Muslims.” 3 Abduh’s most prominent disciples were Rashid Rida and Ali abd al-Raziq. Both students went on to write about the abolition of the Khilafah in 1924 and further reforms they felt necessary to strengthen Islam. Hence the first attempts at reforming Islam resulted in the abolition of the Khilafah and the end of nearly fourteen centuries of Islamic rule. However with less then a century passing from this historical event Muslims have returned to Islam and every day edge closer to the re-establishment of the Khilafah. It is for this reason that the West have once again initiated plans to change Islam, since any 5 revival of Islam will naturally end in the establishment of the Khilafah which represents an alternative system of governance that would then challenge the dominance of capitalism in the world. The battle for hearts and minds is now fully underway. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined this after the 7/7 attacks in July 2005: “It is not a clash of civilisations - all civilized people, Muslim or other, feel revulsion at it. But it is a global struggle. It is a battle of ideas and hearts and minds, both within Islam and outside.”4 This battle is taking varying shapes and forms. A spectrum of various shades of modernist thought ranging from the extreme such as that of Irshad Manji to the more subtle such as Sheikh Ali Gomaa form part of this battle for hearts and minds. Amongst this spectrum are people from various backgrounds including academics, activists and traditional Ulema. All are in some shape or form, knowingly or unknowingly, propagating the reform of Islam in order to change Islam to fit with contemporary realities instead of working to change the reality in order to fit with Islam. It is for this very reason this book has been written. To outline very clearly the attempts being undertaken to reform Islam and highlight the key styles and means being used. It outlines the specific arguments being used by the West and those smitten by the West. It looks at the events that have already occurred to reform Islam outlining the common approach taken by the West. It also outlines the correct method in defending Islam ensuring the responses do not inadvertently aid the agenda to reform Islam. It also outlines the method to go on the offensive rather than become defensive and accept the propaganda being levelled against Islam. 6 THE BATTLE FOR HEARTS AND MINDS It was after the events of 9/11 that the hatred for Islam by many in the West was paraded openly. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq proved for many thinkers that Capitalism gained no currency in the Muslim world. In fact stories of Iraqi’s welcoming US troops were found to be lies concocted by the US spin machine. Clearly it is no coincidence that the areas that are ultimately targets of the so-called ‘war on terror’ are Islamic countries with Muslim majority populations that could provide a base for future Islamic governance. These are the same countries where strategic resources - most notably oil and natural gas are concentrated. It is also no coincidence that both the 2002 and 2006 versions of the Pentagon's Quadrennial Review demonized Muslims, Islamic countries and Islam, in various guises, as grave threats to US security. The highest US officials were convinced that America’s greatest ideological challenge is what they call ‘a highly politicized form of Islam’ and that Washington and its allies cannot afford to stand by and watch Muslims realise their political destiny, the Khilafah. Lord Curzon, the British Foreign Minister at the time of the Khilafah’s demise in 1924 announced to the House of Commons: “We must put an end to anything which brings about any Islamic unity between the sons of the Muslims. As we have already succeeded in finishing off the Caliphate, so we must ensure that there will never arise again unity for the Muslims, whether it be intellectual or cultural unity.” This encapsulated how the superpower of the day viewed Islam as a threat to its very existence. The fall of Communism in 1990 brought Islam into a direct clash with Capitalism. The former secretary general of NATO Willie Claes stated: “The Alliance has placed Islam as a target for its hostility in place of the Soviet Union.” This led to a new onslaught against Islam.

Load more